Families of victims of the bloody war on drugs (WoD) campaign under the Duterte administration will have until August 13, 2021 to submit before the International Criminal Court (ICC) their “representations” following the recent request made by former Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda for authorization to proceed with an investigation on crimes committed in the Philippines.
To help the victims go through the process, the Victims Participation and Reparations Section ("VPRS") has prepared a template fillable PDF representation form along with translations and guidelines on how to fill in the form.
By submitting their representations, this means victims may provide their views, concerns and expectations regarding the Prosecutor's request to the ICC Judges for their consideration.
Former ICC Judge Raul Pangalangan explained that the international court’s call for victims to come forward is based on the cornerstone of the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC in July 1998.
“Please note that a cornerstone of the Rome Statute is focused on the victims. Both in terms of the victim reparations and also in terms of victims’ participation,” Pangalangan said during a recent online forum jointly organized by the University of the Philippines Institute of Human Rights, the UP Institute of International Legal Studies, and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines.
Pangalangan’s six-year term as judge at the ICC ended last March.
On June 14, 2021, the Prosecutor Bensouda publicly requested authorization from the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber I to initiate an investigation into crimes allegedly committed on the territory of the Philippines between November 1, 2011 and March 16, 2019 in the context of the Government of the Philippines' "war on drugs" campaign.
The period covers from the time when President Duterte was still mayor of Davao City until 2019.
Government estimates put the death toll of the war on durgs camapaign to more than 6,000 individuals from 2016 to 2019 alone.